Cardinals land four all-conference spots

After completing a hard-fought 22-win season, the Newton volleyball team officially wrapped up its season with the announcement of four players being named to All-Little Hawkeye Conference lists.

Junior Michaela Bleeker took top honors with a first-team selection, senior Katelyn Camp was named to the second team and juniors Holly Vander Pol and Jennifer Ventling were given honorable mention.

Bleeker’s selection shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone as she was the go-to player for the Cardinals all season long. She finished the season with 428 kills, which placed her first overall in not only the conference, but all of Class 4A as well.

From the service line, Bleeker finished second in the conference and first on the team with 58 aces while finishing with a .909 serving percentage. Defensively, she was 10th in the conference and first on the team with 323 digs.

Camp, just one of two seniors on the team this season, wrapped up her long campaign of runnining the Cardinal offense by finishing second in the conference with 715 assists. She did more than dish the ball up, however, and finished near the top of the team and conference totals in blocks with 40 total.

Among her other offensive numbers were a .936 service efficiency and 40 aces, as well as 97 kills, which placed her fourth on the team.

Much like Camp, Vander Pol stretched her skills throughout the court all season. She was second on the team in kills with 165, which translated to 1.67 per set. She also made a significant contribution from the service line with 56 aces and a .960 service efficiency, which were both good for second on the team.

Rounding out the Cardinals’ selections was Ventling, who regularly patrolled the middle for Newton. For her efforts, Ventling finished third on the team with 118 kills and 30 total blocks. Much like Vander Pol and Bleeker, Ventling is expected to return to what should be an experienced squad next season.

Newton finished the season with a record of 22-15 overall and 2-4 in the conference. The Cardinals’ season came to a somewhat surprising end with a 3-1 loss to Pella on Oct. 22.